LIMA — There are certain things that come with Fridays — high school football (if only for the fall), end-of-week paychecks (for some), and the promise of a weekend off (unless you work). While each of these examples have exceptions, one thing seems to come with each and every Friday: Seeing Stella Cogley at the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store.
Cogley, who turns 91 Sunday, has been a volunteer at St. Vincent de Paul since the society’s inception in the 1970s, along with fellow volunteers Juanita Gallagher and Joan Nafzinger.
“We wanted to start a business so we could help people,” Cogley said. “We wanted to help people who needed assistance with clothing, food and friendship. No one wanted Fridays, so I took Friday from day one.”
“Those ladies went through their closets, and there was maybe a bag full of clothes at the time,” store co-chair Velma Kill said. “And now we’re swamped, which is a good thing.”
Cogley started as a cashier during the early days of the shop at the intersection of Kibby and Main streets. As time has passed and the store moved to its current location at 928 S. Main St., Cogley took less of a visible position, helping out in the back.
“Since we’ve come down here, I take care of all the underwear, the shoes and the books,” she said. “It’s worth it. I’m here to help people who need help.”
That help can come in a variety of ways, according to Kill.
“Every cent we make, other than our own utilities and rent, goes to help people one way or another,” she said. “It could be gas, it could be rent help, whatever’s needed.”
It is for that reason that Cogley continues to make her regular appearances at the store, every noon to 2 p.m. every Friday.
“It keeps you going,” she said. “You have a place you know you’re going to.”
“It keeps us out among people,” 87-year-old volunteer Pat Saine added.
On Friday, Cogley and several other ladies gathered in the back of the store, behind racks filled with clothes hangers and shelves filled with shoes and VHS tapes, celebrating Cogley’s birthday two days early with cake and Klondike bars. Taking a break from folding and arranging merchandise, the ladies talked and laughed together, reflecting on Cogley’s time at the store.
“It’s great being here,” Cogley said with a smile.
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